9th Grade Biology

Welcome to 9th Grade Biology. My name is Mr. Rittner and I will be your instructor for the year. This year in science, we will be focusing not just on Biology, but also 21st Century Skills. You will be challenged to problem solve, collaborate with your peers, become technologically literate and above all- to think critically. Gone are the days of simple memorization, I want you to become proficient in applying what you know to solve a problem and present an argument.

Science Department Grade Breakdown

Late Policy

Tests, Quizzes, Labs and Projects: 80%Classwork: 10%Homework: 10%

Unexcused late work:Academic Biology: 20% off per day late.Accelerated Biology: 50% off per day late.

Cell Phone Policy

Cell phone use is permitted and frankly encouraged in class, so long as it is for educational purposes. Of course, students may be asked to put their phones away for direct instruction, especially during laboratory demonstrations or reviewing instructions. Failure to cooperate may result in detention and/or loss of phone privileges. Examples of constructive phone use include: searching for relevant facts and statistics, watching science youtube videos (including video lessons) and consulting this Weebly Page.

21st Century Skills

Academic Independence

One of your goals this year is to become academically independent. When you are having difficulty seek help, when you have questions ask them. Remember, you are never alone, but you must advocate for yourself.

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

No more mindless vocabulary tests. This class will focus on analyzing data and applying what you know to solve problems, make arguments and predict outcomes.

Technological Literacy

The world is changing, technology is everywhere and you need to master it. This year we will develop our skills with Google Apps including Drive to help you work smarter and prepare you for the real world.

Science in the News

Radiolab is an NPR radio broadcast that focuses on science and technology, "Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience." The production quality is outstanding and hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich do an amazing job of exploring complex issues in an engaging, fun-loving and detail oriented manner.Be be advised, while all Radio Lab podcasts are wonderfully done, some of them may contain strong language and mature content. As such, Radio Lab podcasts are not mandated curriculum for class, but students are encouraged to check them out and given them a short. Below are some sample podcasts highly relevant to class concepts and curriculum.

Cell Mates​"There’s a black hole in the middle of the history of life: how did we go from tiny bags of chemicals to the vast menagerie of creatures we see around us? Today, we explore one of the most underrated mysteries of all time, and present one possible answer that takes us from an unexpected houseguest to a tiny bolt of lightning to every critter you hold dear. It’s the story of one cosmic oops moment that changed the game of life forever. "

Patient Zero"The greatest mysteries have a shadowy figure at the center—someone who sets things in motion and holds the key to how the story unfolds—Patient Zero. This hour, Radiolab hunts for Patient Zeroes of all kinds and considers the course of an ongoing outbreak. We start with the story of perhaps the most iconic Patient Zero of all time: Typhoid Mary. Then, we dive into a molecular detective story to pinpoint the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, and we re-imagine the moment the virus that caused the global pandemic sprang to life. After that, we update the show with a quick look at the very current Ebola outbreak in west Africa. In the end, we're left wondering if you can trace the spread of an idea the way you can trace the spread of a disease and find ourselves faced with competing claims about the origin of the high five."

The Rhino Hunter"Back in 2014, Corey Knowlton paid $350,000 for a hunting trip to Namibia to shoot and kill an endangered species. He’s a professional hunter, who guides hunts all around the world, so going to Africa would be nothing new. The target on the other hand would be. And so too, he quickly found, would be the attention.

​This episode, producer Simon Adler follows Corey as he dodges death threats and prepares to pull the trigger. Along the way we stop to talk with Namibian hunters and government officials, American activists, and someone who's been here before - Kenya’s former Director of Wildlife, Richard Leakey. All the while, we try to uncover what conservation really means in the 21st century."

New Normal"Evolution results from the ability of organisms to change. But how do you tell the difference between a sea change and a ripple in the water? Is a peacenik baboon, a man in a dress, or a cuddly fox a sign of things to come? Or just a flukey outlier from the norm? And is there ever really a norm?"

Galapagos"Today, the strange story of a small group of islands that raise a big question: is it inevitable that even our most sacred natural landscapes will eventually get swallowed up by humans? And just how far are we willing to go to stop that from happening?We are dedicating a whole hour to the Galapagos archipelago, the place that inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection. 179 years later, the Galapagos are undergoing rapid changes that continue to pose -- and possibly answer -- critical questions about the fragility and resilience of life on Earth."

From Tree to Shining Tree"A forest can feel like a place of great stillness and quiet. But if you dig a little deeper, there’s a hidden world beneath your feet as busy and complicated as a city at rush hour. ​In this story, a dog introduces us to a strange creature that burrows beneath forests, building an underground network where deals are made and lives are saved (and lost) in a complex web of friendships, rivalries, and business relations. It’s a network that scientists are only just beginning to untangle and map, and it’s not only turning our understanding of forests upside down, it’s leading some researchers to rethink what it means to be intelligent."

Playing God"When people are dying and you can only save some, how do you choose? Maybe you save the youngest. Or the sickest. Maybe you even just put all the names in a hat and pick at random. Would your answer change if a sick person was standing right in front of you?

In this episode, we follow New York Times reporter Sheri Fink as she searches for the answer. In a warzone, a hurricane, a church basement, and an earthquake, the question remains the same. What happens, what should happen, when humans are forced to play god?"

CRISPR"It's been almost two years since we learned about CRISPR, a ninja-assassin-meets-DNA-editing-tool that has been billed as one of the most powerful, and potentially controversial, technologies ever discovered by scientists. In this episode, we catch up on what's been happening (it's a lot), and learn about CRISPR's potential to not only change human evolution, but every organism on the entire planet.

Out with a few biologists, Jad finds out about something called CRISPR. No, it’s not a robot or the latest dating app, it’s a method for genetic manipulation that is rewriting the way we change DNA. Scientists say they’ll someday be able to use CRISPR to fight cancer and maybe even bring animals back from the dead. Or, pretty much do whatever you want. Jad and Robert delve into how CRISPR does what it does, and consider whether we should be worried about a future full of flying pigs, or the simple fact that scientists have now used CRISPR to tweak the genes of human embryos."

​Driverless Dilemma"Most of us would sacrifice one person to save five. It’s a pretty straightforward bit of moral math. But if we have to actually kill that person ourselves, the math gets fuzzy.

That’s the lesson of the classic Trolley Problem, a moral puzzle that fried our brains in an episode we did about 11 years ago. Luckily, the Trolley Problem has always been little more than a thought experiment, mostly confined to conversations at a certain kind of cocktail party. That is until now. New technologies are forcing that moral quandry out of our philosophy departments and onto our streets. So today we revisit the Trolley Problem and wonder how a two-ton hunk of speeding metal will make moral calculations about life and death that we can’t even figure out ourselves."

Smarty PlantsDo you really need a brain to sense the world around you? To remember? Or even learn? Well, it depends on who you ask. Jad and Robert, they are split on this one. Today, Robert drags Jad along on a parade for the surprising feats of brainless plants. Along with a home-inspection duo, a science writer, and some enterprising scientists at Princeton University, we dig into the work of evolutionary ecologist Monica Gagliano, who turns our brain-centered worldview on its head through a series of clever experiments that show plants doing things we never would've imagined. Can Robert get Jad to join the march?